FAIL

I think I may have overdrafted.... I know I did. I just hope they don't charge a different fee for each transaction. I kept thinking the rent check was $50 less than it actually was. And the truth is, I decided I didn't need to write down all my stuff in a checkbook ledger because the internet does it for me. And then on Thursday I left my computer at Nes' house and decided I could live until Monday without it. I therefore was unable to check my bank account balance. Darn... I really REALLY hope they don't charge separate fees for each transaction.... that'd be 4 fees of $35. AKA, a butt-ton of money. Crap.

General Update

So, the budget thing is going well, as is being alive. Not going so well is book reading... I've so far this year only completed one book I'm pretty sure. It's not really a book either, it's the script for the play I'm currently in. It definitely counts, I've already decided. So the current book count for 2010 is... ONE. Go team!

Budget

Okay, so I dunno if I should be private with my money dealings and if I shouldn't post my budget here, so I'm going to do it and if it's dumb of me, someone tell me so. But here's where I'm hashing this out. I've never had a budget before and I think I need some help with it. That's why I'm posting it. So more experienced budgeters can tell me if I'm underestimating or overestimating or forgetting something important. And I think I'm going to do a bi-weekly budget, both to keep in the 'B' theme I've got going on and because that's how often I get paid.

BI-WEEKLY BUDGET:

1/2 Rent: $150

Gas: $40

Food: $40

1/2 Electricity: $15

Entertainment: $20

Pop: $12

TOTAL: $277

I get paid around $300 every two weeks, so this seems pretty sound to me. By the looks of it, I should be able to even save $23 dollars from each paycheck. If I was actually able to do that throughout the year I would end up with $552. That would mean a very merry Christmas for whoever's name I drew.

So, most awesome budgeting beauties out there, does that look okay?

New Challenge: Banking!

As a Hite, I am notoriously poor at managing my money. The only person in my family that has always been good with it since forever that I can really be sure about is Karl. He never trusted banks and instead kept all of his money in a Gundam pencil case tin. When he finally had real income, Karl had to enlist the help of a major banking firm and to ensure his money's safety, Karl buried the Gundam tin right outside the bank near the entryway. I am not this awesome. I am in fact anti-awesome at banking. The only thing I have going for me is that the more money I have, the better I am at keeping/managing it. I rarely have enough money for this to come into play. Therefore, my next challenge for 2010 is to help me overcome my constant fear of overdraft. This is a major problem to fix and comes in many parts.

PART I: Budget
I will make myself a weekly budget that includes all of the necessities and niceties of living; food, gas, rent, entertainment, utilities, and free money. I will stick to this budget. I will put my budget in my wallet, on my wall, and all over my planner.

PART II: Bills
I will pay my bills on time and with no grief. I am lucky to be able to have the conveniences that are directly associated with bills and I will therefore smile as I give Portland General Electric $30 a month.

PART III: Balance
I will balance my checkbook and keep a current and complete record of all transactions made. I will keep one for my checking, savings, and credit card accounts. I will see where I spend my money and adjust my spending accordingly.

It's a nice, simple, and complete plan for altering my spending/banking. I can dig on this. I'll make it happen.

100 Books in 2010!

First challenge of the year: to read 100 books in 2010. It sounds a bit ludicrous, I know, but I'm willing to give it a go! And if you want to join in, check it out here: BOOK CHALLENGE

The first book I'm working on is Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. I should be finished in just a few days.

Challenges!!!

I decided that being an oddly competitive person, the best way to get myself to do something is to challenge myself. Sometimes, I put a reward or prize at the end for myself as well, just adding to my motivation. So in the 2010, I will be putting myself up against challenges. Some will be long term (like my first challenge, which will be blogged about shortly) or short term (like getting an assignment turned in on time). I think this will DEFINITELY help me in my achieving goals. But here's the other thing: if I'm doing this stuff all by myself, there's no competition, there's no blood curdling urge to win, there's no reason for me to try. I have two solutions. First, readers of my blog, you should participate in my challenges or create challenges of your own. Second, I go it alone but create a baseline standard for how I should be progressing and then compete against that. However I induce the slightly ridiculous and insane urge to beat everyone else, this will be awesome.

Oh, oil changer man.

You've just made my day if not life. Who knew that I could cause the same amount of flusteredness in a guy that caused flusteredness in me.

OH HAPPY DAY!

A month's not too long, right?

Because a month ago today was the last time I blogged. Nothing super interesting has happened really. I'm just waiting for freaking school to start. I applied for student housing in Chicago. It's all turning very real and that's super stressful for me. But I'm really going to do this.

In other news, apparently I am actually attractive to dudes. I found this out one fine evening when I was feeling particularly sad about my current very dry spell. I decided to post as my Facebook status, "... is not attractive to dudes. The end." Boy did I get a response. So, I guess I shouldn't be attracted to "dudes" and "dudes" are attracted to me. Or something.

I'm trying to figure out what to get for my good friend Patrick for his birthday. I'm thinking something about DnD, pirates, legos, or comics. Or these mushroom statues that he said he really liked one night at Safeway. I dunno. He just said he banned me from getting him a gift. He's getting one whether he likes it or not. I love buying presents!!!!!!!!!!

My room AKA my apartment is very messy. I have some serious cleaning to do. And some serious packing to do before Chicago.

This post actively represents my current life. Sort of all over the place, not focused on anything, mostly revolves around friends/dudes, and boring.

SCHOOL! I COMMAND YOU TO START!

I love school. I wish it would start already....

You know how I said it was no big thing?

I really meant it. I broke up with my "boyfriend" this afternoon. He is still awesome, but we just weren't quite compatible. To put it in HIMYM terms, I'm much more of a Robin and he's a Ted. There's a funny story there that I won't tell because he'd be embarrassed. But let's just say... he TOTALLY pulled a Ted.

After I broke up with him, using lots of cliches (It's not you, it's me. I'm trying to find myself right now and I can't do that with a BF. I'm really busy with work right now. [Also like Robin breaking up with the kindergartener, I think I was his first GF and therefore dumping]) I continued to have one of the most awkward afternoons. Ever. He insisted that not only we still go see G.I. Joe together, but that he pay for my ticket. It didn't get better as time passed, it just got more uncomfortable. It's really hard to explain. I did not dig it.

We will still be friends. I'm not worried about that so much. But I did notice us both trying desperately to avoid our inside jokes. Much like Ted and Robin. Obvi I've been watching 3rd season HIMYM lately. But only when I haven't been reading the TWILIGHT SAGA!!!!! I'm about half way through Breaking Dawn now. I started it last night after I drove to the nearest bookstore open till 10:00pm after I finished Eclipse at 9:30. I'm addicted. It's like my own personal brand of heroin. That I happen to share with millions of other 19 year old girls.


P.S. Happy Birthday, Steve Martin!!! You continue to be the creepiest old man in entertainment!

It's about time...

So, here I go again. It's been very long since I posted last. I guess I'll give this whole blogging thing another shot.

Updates:

1: My car runs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2: My computer does not.... I really need to get it fixed. I'm writing this all on my Wii, which is very time consuming and lame.
3: I guess I have a boyfriend now. It's no big thing, but he's awesome.

4: I LOVE NEIL PATRICK HARRIS!

5: I just finished reading New Moon. I'm a little ashamed to say I loved it. But btw, at the moment I'm very team Jacob. Don't throw things at me, please?

6: There are a ton of raccoons at my apartment. They're both very scary and unbelievably adorable.

6: I can't wait for school to start again. I miss it a lot.

7: I'm really hungry right now.

8: I have all day off today, so I'm going to go buy a big academic desk calendar and a weekly planner so I feel and am more productive. I may even do the dishes today. Though that is highly unlikely.

9: I just got a text from my neighbor. She's bringing me Eclipse. I'm very excited.

10: I can't wait to go to Chicago!

Surgical Happenings in the Hite Family

Today, in fact at this very moment, my mommy is going through gastric bypass surgery. I'm very nervous that there are no complications. But I love her and send her my love and I'll be giving off good vibes all day. I will radiate love and hope like the sun radiates... light? Anyway, the moral of all this is that she's in surgery right now and will be recouping the next two weeks.

I LOVE MY MOMMY!

A Sunshine Delay...

...is when the traffic slows down because the sun is in your eyes. Days like today you would be lucky to make it home in the first place.

It's been SOOO beautiful up here the last couple days. Sunny, warm, perfect. I actually experienced a sunshine delay the last two days. It was awesome. I love this weather. And that song. Yay sunshine!

P.S. I could actually feel my flesh burning on Saturday out in the sun. It rocked.

Yoga, Y-O-G-A, Yoga.

I'm taking a Yoga class. And in this class I can get extra credit for doing things like... becoming vegetarian for two weeks, helping the homeless, meditation at temple, writing about my feelings, researching a path of Yoga, and other silly things. So far, after just the first class, which was just orientation, I love it. Granted, we haven't done any real Yoga yet. But I'm thinking not only will my general health thank me for it, my scoliosis and arthritis will thank me too. Not to mention Izzie's mom who is a Yoga master/instructor/enthusiast. She couldn't be HAPPIER that Izzie and I are taking this class. Honestly, neither could I.

Funny story about the first class of Yoga though. We walk in to the studio and just sit where there was enough surface area to sit. Then the teacher starts going through her entire spiel about Yoga being good for the mind/body/spirit and how happy she is that we've all taken this step toward enlightenment of mind/body/spirit and yadda yaddy yadda. Then she does a quick sweep through the class with her eyes, stops at me, and says, "Landy! How are you! I'm so glad you're in here!" To which I respond, "Yeah! Thanks, me too!" because I've never, EVER, seen this woman before in my life. Not a once. And then she must have been able to read the confusion in my face, even through my faking recognition and affection, because she said, "My son is in your improv team, Theo?" and then the connection connects in my brain. She is the mom of a fellow improver, Theo. I replied with "Of course! Hi, how are you?" And then we chatted for a moment in the middle of orientation. I maintain I have never been formally introduced to this woman. But that's okay, because she already likes me. And if there's one thing I like, it's being liked by my professors.

In other news, Izzie has yet to find a job. But that's okay, because I convinced her to go back to school, FULL-TIME. And, now that she is a full-time student, her parents will support her. Which is very nice because I stress out enough about making rent myself that I don't need the additional stress of being worried Izzie won't. We are taking the same classes: Intro to Music, Japanese Lit, Yoga, and the Spring show. I'm taking the addition class, Advanced Improv. But I'm not sure if I truly can take that class, because I've taken it already once, and I'm afraid financial aid won't pay for it if I audit or take it again for credit. I have to make a visit to the Registration office today after work.

My new schedule for Monday/Wednesday is this:
6:00-8:30AM Take care of Nes
9:00-3:00PM Classes
3:00-6:00PM Rehearsal
6:30-8:00PM Yoga

It is really full, but I like having my schedule so densely packed. It means I'm busy, not slacking off, and it makes me feel responsible so I act WAY more responsible. And do things like, NOT OVER-DRAFT.

Speaking of over-drafting, I over-drafted yesterday. I was very angry/sad. It was the first time I've over-drafted since October, which is ASTOUNDING in my life.

ATTENTION!!! BREAKING NEWS!!!

I just perused the online banking site and realized... I DIDN'T OVER-DRAFT!!! I'm still in the clear! What happened was, I forgot that my internet automatically withdraws from my checking account. And, even though the amount is WAY more than I currently had in there, because the transaction hasn't posted yet, it's just processing, I HAVEN'T OVER-DRAFTED. I'm still going strong with my banking. That's just plain too awesome for words. I like being good at banking. Or at least it's nice to not suck at it.

So... I'm trying to think of anything else interesting or nice.

Nope, I'm fresh out. So there Mom. I'm blogging again!

I am soo poor...

So, I pretty I am very poor. And then I was perusing the paypal website. Turns out I can make a button so people can make donations to me! So I did that. In case anyone wanted to give me some money. Just click on my sad face, and you can give me money. Isn't technology amazing? This is the internet equivalence of begging for change.

One day till my birfday!

BOOKS!

I've recently started reading them again! It all started with a classic, "Wayside School is Falling Down" which, upon inspection, I realized I stole from Mrs. Malan when I was in the 5th grade. It only has an A.R. rating of 4.9, but there are CERTAINLY some jokes in there I didn't get when I read it the first time. I enjoyed that book thoroughly.

Then, I read "The Life of Abraham Lincoln", a children's novelization of the life of honest Abe. I acquired this book from Allie for Christmas this year. *Thanks Allie!* I too dug this book. It made me laugh a lot. It made me cry a lot. I really liked it. Especially the parts that I knew the writer made up. Because that just made it kind of funny. Did you know his mom died of milksick? Apparently SO.

After finished that book, I went on to try to read "Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids", another gift from Allie. Unfortunately... I couldn't get past the first dozen or so pages. It turns out to not be tragically funny or sad or interesting. It's a study on sociology in teens or something that I really should find fascinating, but I don't care enough to try.

I put that book aside and jumped into a book I loved so much, I finished it in two days. The title of this insanely hilarious, soon to be motion picture, is "I Love You Beth Cooper" penned by Larry Doyle. It was GREAT. I read it only stopping to pee, eat, go to work, and watch an episode or four of Moonlighting (another new passion). SO GOOD. I recommend it to anyone but be forewarned that it does include sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. And swear words. Not for the faint of heart. So pretty much... Dad, you'll really love this book!

Now here comes the conundrum; I just finished an AMAZING book I may put on my list of favorites, but what do I read next? I don't want the next thing I read to feel embarrassed when it doesn't measure up but I also don't want to read drivel. So here comes your part. I need suggestions of good, HILARIOUS, books. Emphasis on the HILARIOUS. I like funny books. So please, PLEASE, leave me suggestions.

The Short Story I Wrote For My Creative Writing Class

Landy Hite

“And Then The Night Got Worse”


Caitlin took one last look at herself in the mirror before deciding that she looked good enough for her first date with Kurt. She congratulated herself on the perfect ensemble; a long shirt she wore as a dress over leggings showed the curves she was proud of without feeling like a slime ball. And her hair. Gosh, her hair just looked gorgeous with its soft curls perfectly framing her face. Caitlin thought she couldn’t look better. If Kurt didn’t just buckle in love with her in this outfit, he never would. She dashed back into the living room/bedroom/kitchen of her studio apartment to grab her purse and coat before turning out the only light in the apartment. She reached down and scruffed the mini-mane of her cat, Sergeant Tibbs.
“Bye Sarg! Don’t wait up for me!”
Caitlin walked outside, slamming the door behind her. As she struggled with the barely-passes-as-a-lock deadbolt her phone started ringing.
“Unbreak my heart! Say you love me again! Undo this hurt that you caused when you walked out the door and walked out of my life. Uncry these tears!”
Just when Toni hit the high note, Caitlin was able to coerce the deadbolt locked and flipped open her cell to answer the call. “Hello?”
“Hey Caity, it’s me.”
The low pitched airy voice on the other side of the phone caused Caitlin’s knees to buckle. She immediately blushed and bit her lower lip as she propped herself up on the doorframe. It was Kurt. Suddenly, and without asking it to, Caitlin’s voice got quite and breathy.
“Oh, hello you.”
Caitlin couldn’t believe the way this boy made her act, let alone feel. Caitlin was convinced that tonight would be the night that they would kiss. There’s nothing better than a trip to a rice pudding bar and a dollar rental to set the mood for the perfect first kiss. First, Kurt would tenderly brush the curls out of Caitlin’s face. And then, with the perfect amount of everything, Kurt would press his lips on hers and she would melt into happiness. Caitlin realized she’d wandered off and there had been a long silence in the conversation, or rather, lack there of. She stomped her foot to bring herself back to reality.
“So what’s up?” she said in an attempt to erase what she just said and how she said it. Not to mention that pause.
“I have some bad news. It turns out I have to work tonight.” Kurt then released a great sigh of anger.
Caitlin was hopping up and down on the inside knowing that he was as excited about the date as she was, and that he was disappointed he would have to cancel.
“Oh bust. That totally sucks… does that mean we can’t go out on our… I mean hang out tonight?” Caitlin was pleased with her attempt at hiding her coexisting disappointment and overjoyment.
“Yeah. I mean, unless you wanted to come hang out at work with me. Do you?” Kurt said with the tiniest bit of hope and anticipation.
Caitlin wanted nothing else in the world right now than to hang out with Kurt at work, but she had seen enough chick flicks and read enough relationship books by so-called gurus to know not to sound too needy or willing.
“Hmm…” she said as if this was a choice she seriously had to consider. Caitlin paused as she pretended to weigh the pros and cons of the situation.
“Only if you want to. I mean, you don’t have to.” Kurt said sounding more discouraged than Caitlin had ever heard someone sound before.
Oh no, she had weighed her options too long, she had hesitated a tad longer than she meant.
“I do!” were the words she said on compulsion.
“Oh cool. Awesome. So I guess… I’ll see you later?”
Of course he would see her later. Kurt could see her anytime he wanted, all he had to do was nothing.
“Totally.” Caitlin said before hanging up.
All the excitement of the phone call with the most amazing guy she’s ever met made Caitlin need to pee. She shoved her key back in the deadbolt and jiggled it around to try to get it open. No dice. Having just moved in, Caitlin hadn‘t learned the sweet spot of the key to lock and unlock the door with ease. She tried turning it the opposite direction to see if with the extra momentum the key turn. Nope. Caitlin tried the key angled up, then angled down. Pushing while turning. Pulling while turning. Kicking while turning. Complete and utter failure at all attempts.
Concerned less with getting back into her apartment, and more with the pressure building in her bladder, Caitlin started running with intense purpose toward the leasing office which she knew had a public restroom. Being on the complete opposite side of the office didn’t cross her mind when she made her decision to run there, all she could think about were waterfalls and rivers and other running water mechanisms. Suddenly the distance struck her with an unfortunate reaction. Completely caught off guard and with the bouncing up and down motion from the running, Caitlin slowly but surely started to pee. She stopped abruptly and crossed her legs squeezing them together as tight as she could.
“Don’t pee, don’t pee, “ was her mantra and she inched toward the building. There was a loud noise and having all her energy focused on not peeing it took Caitlin longer than it should have to realize it was a car. Then it took her and extra moment to realize why they were honking. Caitlin was standing in the middle of the road, blocking traffic.
Caitlin took a deep breath and made the only choice she knew she had. She uncrossed her legs and took normal strides to the sidewalk. With each step she took a little more pee ran down her legs and into her brand new suede boots. Finally, with an empty bladder and a full heart, Caitlin made it to the sidewalk and up to her apartment door.
“At least the night couldn’t get any worse.”
She put her key in the lock and turned it too forcibly to the left. And then the night got worse. With a snap, Caitlin held in her hand exactly one half of her house key. The remaining half was wedged into the keyhole. She walked defeated to the edge of the walkway and sat on the curb. She had three calls to make and wasn’t sure which one to make first. She decided to start with the most unpleasant.
“Hey Kurt,” she said, eyes welling with tears. “So, I won’t be able to go over there tonight. Something came up.”
After saying goodbye, Caitlin let go of her emotions and just cried. When the waves of tears subsided she called the locksmith to rescue her. And then she made her last call.
“Lily? It’s Caitlin. You know how we said that thing, about peeing our pants.”
“That if one of us wets our self the other will… you know.”
“Yes. Well, it’s time.”
Without any more talking Lily proved her best friend status and peed her pants.
“It’s done.” Lily replied.
Then Caitlin and Lily laughed.

Happy Birthday Mom! And other updates.

I know this isn't our mom, but it's an historic mom. (a historic?) Her name is Joyce, which is nothing like Lynnelle, but still. Shut up and pretend with me. I love my mommy. She's the best mom I've ever had. It was her birthday a little while ago, so I'm late, but I still love her. I promise. So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Other exciting things that have happened lately... I saw this movie:

it was bad. Not just bad, BAD BAD. Not even the comic genius of Steven Martin could resurrect it. I could smell the surprise ending from the beginning and I think I laughed most not at the movie but at an old couple as they left the theater. The old woman was walking down the steps just laughing until she said, "If that doesn't make you laugh, then nothing will! Hahaha... There's a big fight at the wedding: AND THEY LEAVE! Hahaha...." And then she went on to quote the big last ending line which was so funny that I've already forgotten it. It was really cute. And funny. The couple, not the movie. Miss that movie at all costs. Though it was a big win with the people under 14 and over 60 in the theater.

My roommate Izzie, pictured here:

is in Moscow, ID for an acting competition. (yes Allie, that's that Harry Potter book.) I wish her all the luck in the world, even though if her scenes win she doesn't really win. She went as a scene partner for Kris, who was selected to compete. The moral of this story is that I'm home alone and I don't like living alone. It's awfully lonely.

Just yesterday I finally got ALL of my stuff from Malia's house. Among those things was a COUCH! So now, my apartment is officially furnished, though not even close to unpacked. Maybe I'll surprise Izzie by finally finishing that. Maybe.... that sounds like an awful lot of work. We'll see how it goes. Maybe I'll post before and after pictures. That also sounds like work... Well, the point is that we have a couch and Wireless Internet! Go us! And by us I really mean just me. Go me!

I also got a HAIRCUT. PROFESSIONALLY. Which is really cool. Because normally I just let Malia hack at it until it resembles what I want. (She actually does a fine job, but I feel her technique may be slipping with lack of practice.) So I went to Super Cuts and paid my $12 and got a simple, but adorable hair cut. It makes the bangs that I had tried to trim mere days before but had cut crooked, and then tried to straighten out and ended up being about an inch shorter than wanted/anticipated look a lot less retarded. My new hair cut is pictured below:

I like this haircut a lot. A lot a lot.

So, there are some updates for now. I gotta go though. It's time to wake up Nes.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my pop's birthday! The little boy in that picture is named James Hite. Just like my dad, who's birthday is today!

ALSO, last night's Groundhog Day celebrations when splendifurously well! It was a small party, just Patrick, Cameron, and me, but a lovely party! Everyone participated in the craft and they turned out hilarious.


The groundhog holding the heart isn't as sweet as he looks. He actually is a vampire with a case of the bumble foot. (a condition rats get from walking on cage floors instead of padded liners) Cameron made that little buddy. The lovely girlie groundhog was made by yours truly. We later found out she is also madly in love with NPH. (see picture below) The very dapper gentleman groundhog has blue fur and a tuxedo... and was made by Patrick. These were way too much fun to make, especially as the semi-adults we are.

Groundhog Day!!

Six more weeks of winter, darn! But I don't care, because today is an amazing day! There is a family tradition that on this day, the great and all powerful Groundhog Day, we watch the movie, "Groundhog Day" starring Bill Murray and Andy McDowell. Being away from my home and most of my family, and having already set apart Monday nights as "Screening Parties" with my big group of friends, I decided to help my friends be more awesome by subjecting them to my family tradition. So tonight, I will gather my friends and sit down and watch "Groundhog Day". I'm also getting together some coloring pages and other silly stuff like that. I love this day! We'll also do the obvious Phil in the Styrofoam cup thing. It'll be amazing.